have you ever bought a full build and been happy with it all.
like, not felt the need to upgarade or change to stuff you have used before?

Best I had was only a change of tyres. I’ve found that over the years the quality of tyres fitted as standard has dropped massively in relation to the price of the bike

nope…

which is why I haven’t for well over a decade.

Never ,always have to change saddles ,and seatposts and stems are never long enough

Erm… I always change the tyres..

Apart from putting on SPDs and changing the brakes from Draco things to Deore (and that was only because I had the Deores spare) yes – but I did have to up my budget to get a good enough spec (air fork, decent tyres, 2×10 drivetrain)

With the lastest bike, i have only changed the back tyre, the rest is as it came out the box….

Was trying to think about the 20 or so bikes I’ve had & I thought Oh I didn’t change the 2010 Trek Remedy, then I realised within 1 month I had changed the Bars, stem, grips, saddle, seatpost, wheels, tyres & brakes!

Even my city bike a 2011 Giant Seek 0 has had the bars, stem & saddle changed. Plus I’ve added a rack, panniers & full mudguards.

I do have mates who just ride it as it came but the engineer in me has to tinker 😳

Trek elite 8.9. The tyres change for the conditions but that’s it.

1992 Kona Explosif with Suntour XC Pro group set*.
Fantastic bike straight out the box,I am far too fussy now 😉

* still got the Ti bars that were on it 😳

For the last 5 years I have been buying stock bikes.

The last 2 MTBs have been a Scott Scale and a Trek Superfly. It was a couple of years before I changed the saddle on the scott and have yet to touch the Superfly, hankering after some new wheels mind.

Road bikes I always change the saddle but only for something lighter, tyres and possibly the wheels and cassette immediately. Stem depends on fit, normally for a longer one.

My bum seems to accommodate most saddles.

I’m trying an experiment – get used to all the equipment on my new bike, rather than changing it straight away. Previously, I’d have wanted to change brakes (nothing but shimano for me please), drivetrain (again, shimano), bars (I like Easton), seat / pedals / grips / tyres. Before you know it, you’ve spent £500 with no objective upgrades at all and could have bought something nicer to start with.

Full custom builds tend to be very expensive compared with off-the-peg bikes. I have a friend who just used everything as-it-came on his bike and he saved a lot of money. So I’m actively trying to rein-in my niggly foibles and get used to what is definitely (objectively) nice kit. I guess we’ll see how well that goes…

I’m trying an experiment – get used to all the equipment on my new bike, rather than changing it straight away

A lot of people could learn from that 😉

I spent more than I meant to on the new bike (Giant Trance) and it’s my first full-suss, so I’ve left everything as is to get used to the big change – so far, so good. I worry that the dropper’s not going to last long, and the chain guide’s already proving to be a cheap pain in the arse, but felt no need to tinker with the bigger sits as yet. The Nobby Nics have made it through most of the winter slop and gripped Portuguese rock and Welsh hillsides pretty well so far, the Fox suspension’s great, I like the bar width, no problems with switching from 3×9 to 2×10…

Never thought I’d be so happy with a stock bike from a big name, but I love it.

Bought a canyon road bike. Ain’t changed nuffin.

Don’t be silly Ton.. a perfect full build off the shelf, you iz crazee!

i have made a vow, not to change anything until something breaks or wears out.
we will see.

I moved a spacer from above to below the stem.

Just the saddle on a new one. A few bits on a used one

A stock bike won’t fit, unless you’re average in all ways (or in one of 3-5 ways).

My mountain bike (Genesis High Latitude) is the closest I’ve come – swapped the wheels / tyres before riding it.

Oh and my Genesis Flyer is pretty close to how it was out of the box – just changed chainring / cog / chain.

MTB: Never and unlikely to ever happen. Bird MTB are probably the closest and even then I would want to swap a few bits.

Road: Pretty much, but then I don’t give a monkeys about road bikes. Stem and pedals are all I have changed.

My latest bike (Whyte T129) is my first full build and all I’ve done is sell the dropper post and fit a Thomson. Oh, and Wheelbase changed the tyres before delivery. All the Whyte-branded kit is excellent quality and the XT stuff is flawless. I intended to fit Hope brakes, but there’s no point.

A stock bike won’t fit,

eh?

eh?

Really? Changing stems, bars, saddles, cranks is mandatory to get a bike to fit. Unless you’re lucky enough to be the dimensions they designed the bike to.

I normally buy stock only if there’s a good deal on tbh…

I think bikes are a bit organic tbh you always change stuff for wear an tear and drop a few updated parts as well for good measure.

+1 for thinking Bird’s model of customization is the way forward. Full marks guys.

I’ve tended to err towards frame only wherever I can, I’m never really happy with off the shelf builds. It’s a personal thing, I find that I prefer wide bars and short stems, I prefer Shimano to SRAM and I build my own wheels.

Bought a canyon road bike. Ain’t changed nuffin.

same here, seems pretty sorted.

I bought an On-One 456-evo and left it standard for ages….the spec was good for a sub thousand pound UK steel hardtail.

It had their own seatpost, Truvativ bars, lock on grips, short stem (Truvativ again), decent saddle (comfy!), High Roller tyres front and back, coil spring Sektor fork (awesome, air forks wish they couild be this good!), 2 x 10 SRAM drivetrain…

…and Avid Elixir brakes.

This gave me cause for concern but they were sharp from the start and had incredible power, great feel, nice lever design….then i took them off one day to do some maintenance, changed the pads etc….and they turned to crap instantly, spongey feel, no bite, no power despite pulling the lever virtually to the bar!…the LBS bled them, they were slightly better but nowhere near the standard they arrived from On-One…i sold them and bought Deore-615’s like everybody else.

…have transferred lots of the parts to my current Ragley and they’re still doing great service.

You don’t actually know the meaning of the word mandatory, do you.

Ton – I reckon I’ve reached a level of fussiness that prevents me settling on a full build (though the Canyon Dude looks very tempting/well sorted). I reckon you’re the same. I predict numerous handlebar threads…..

– I reckon I’ve reached a level of fussiness that prevents me settling on a full build

Yep, me too….even the excellent VFM Canyons, YTs, Roses etc have bits and pieces i’d change…i’ll just continue buying frames only when i see one at the right price and spec it to my (often weird) requirements.